Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a defiant defense on Wednesday of his drastic overhaul of federal health agencies as House Democrats accused him of violating the law by shuttering whole divisions and cutting funding appropriated by Congress for medical research. “We are not withholding money for lifesaving research,” Mr. Kennedy insisted. After a fiery back and forth, Representative …
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Local Officials Brace for Loss of Disaster Preparedness Funding
St. Louis has been battered by two tornadoes in the past two months. A fire shut down a new nursing home last month in Enterprise, Ala., forcing residents to evacuate. Cleveland grappled with a power outage while inundated with visitors for the N.C.A.A. women’s basketball Final Four. In each case, local health officials played a key role in containing the …
Read More »RFK Jr. Announces New Database for Research Into ‘Root Causes’ of Autism
After weeks of confusion about his plans for autism research, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Wednesday that his department would build a “real-world platform” that would allow researchers to hunt for causes of the disorder by examining insurance claims, electronic medical records and wearable devices like smart watches. The department will draw the records from Medicare and …
Read More »Trump Administration Slashes Research Into L.G.B.T.Q. Health
The Trump administration has scrapped more than $800 million worth of research into the health of L.G.B.T.Q. people, abandoning studies of cancers and viruses that tend to affect members of sexual minority groups and setting back efforts to defeat a resurgence of sexually transmitted infections, according to an analysis of federal data by The New York Times. In keeping with …
Read More »RFK Jr. Orders Search for New Measles Treatments Instead of Urging Vaccination
With the United States facing its largest single measles outbreak in 25 years, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will direct federal health agencies to explore potential new treatments for the disease, including vitamins, according to an H.H.S. spokesman. The decision is the latest in a series of actions by the nation’s top health official that experts …
Read More »Federal Report Denounces Gender Treatments for Adolescents
Federal health officials published a report on Thursday declaring that the use of hormonal and surgical treatments in young people with gender dysphoria lacked scientific evidence and expressing concern about long-term harms, a stark reversal from previous agency recommendations and the advice of top U.S. medical groups. The report instead prioritized the role of psychotherapy, a divisive intervention to treat …
Read More »Kennedy Advises New Parents to ‘Do Your Own Research’ on Vaccines
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advised parents of newborns to “do your own research” before vaccinating their infants during a televised interview in which he also suggested the measles shot was unsafe and repeatedly made false statements that cast doubt on the benefits of vaccination and the independence of the Food and Drug Administration. Mr. Kennedy made the remarks …
Read More »F.D.A. Scientists Are Reinstated at Agency Food Safety Labs
Federal health officials have reversed the decision to fire a few dozen scientists at the Food and Drug Administration’s food-safety labs, and say they are conducting a review to determine if other critical posts were cut. A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the rehirings and said that several employees would also be restored to the …
Read More »Trump Budget Draft Ends Narcan Program and Other Addiction Measures
The opioid overdose reversal medication commercially known as Narcan saves hundreds of thousands of lives a year and is routinely praised by public health experts for contributing to the continuing drop in opioid-related deaths. But the Trump administration plans to terminate a $56 million annual grant program that distributes doses and trains emergency responders in communities across the country to …
Read More »Trump Cuts Threaten Meals and Services for People With Disabilities and the Aging
Every Monday, Maurine Gentis, a retired teacher, waits for a delivery from Meals on Wheels South Texas. “The meals help stretch my budget,” Ms. Gentis, 77, said. Living alone and in a wheelchair, she appreciates having someone look in on her regularly. The same group, a nonprofit, delivers books from the library and dry food for her cat. But Ms. …
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